Ellwood School just became the latest from Goleta Union to go solar.
“Today’s kindergarteners are going to grow up in buildings that run on the sun, and they’re going to think that’s completely normal,” said Susan Epstein, a former Goleta Union School District board member.
The milestone represents over a decade-long effort from the district to convert its schools to renewable energy, now coming to fruition via the voter-approved Measure M bond.
The $80 million bond was approved by voters in 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, to repair facilities, upgrade classrooms and labs, improve student internet access and increase renewable energy projects in GUSD schools.
The district held a ribbon-cutting celebrating its solar efforts at the elementary school Friday afternoon.
“It was really a testament to a long-term vision from the board,” said Ethan Bertrand, the district board president.
For Epstein, who served on the board from 2004-2020, Friday’s celebration was a long time coming.
She said that in 2010, the board seriously discussed the switch to solar, but a lot of worries remained around the roof, panels and the vendors that installed them.
“Those were fair questions, because good stewards of public money need to ask them,” Epstein said. “Solar power is something that so many of us—board members, district staff and families across this community—hoped and imagined for a long time.”
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Ellwood joins Hollister and Mountain View as the third school to install solar panels.
All three sites were in production at the same time, breaking ground in January and finishing up by March.
Since April, when all three sites became active, over 27,202 kWh of energy has been produced, said Jordan Goines, the district’s assistant superintendent of fiscal services. That’s equivalent to roughly 32 barrels of oil or 150,500 gallons of gasoline.
“This is a milestone around the sustainability efforts in our district,” said Mary Kahn, district superintendent.
And the switch to solar is not just an environmentally conscious decision to convert to clean energy in a warming planet. It’s also a cost-saving one.
Over 20 years, solar energy can save the district nearly $2 million on its electricity bill, essentially paying for itself just from the cost savings, Goines said.
Additionally, through the Inflation Reduction Act, the district will get money back from the IRS for installing solar panels. At the end of the year, the district will receive $1.2 million, which amounts to 34% of the total cost of equipment the district spent.
“It’s long-term savings, long-term investment,” Goines said.
The near completion of re-roofing and installation of HVAC systems, also funded by Measure M, helps to further cut the district’s energy costs by insulating indoor temperatures.
And for the students, the new solar panels are a change they can see and feel.
“The biggest thing for us is probably not even the power generation,” said Ned Schoenwetter, principal of Ellwood. “It is the shade.”
The panels provide shade over the lunch tables, giving students who don’t want to play on the blacktop a viable recess alternative. Hollister and Mountain View have even imagined setting up pickleball or table tennis under the solar panels.
The district office is next in Iine to get solar, and they expect to break ground by June 29. By then, roughly 33% of the district will be powered by solar energy.
Kahn told the News-Press that there is also a strong interest to get more schools to convert to solar.
“We have schools that are ready to go saying, ‘please, us next,’” Kahn said.
Julianna Lozada is a Santa Barbara-based reporter. She previously wrote for Southern California News Group as well as the Beverly Hills Courier and Santa Clarita Valley Proclaimer. She holds dual degrees from Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University. More by Julianna Lozada • Santa Barbara News-Press
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